Fighting Unto Darkness
by Mayor-Killager
Summary: Leonard Princey, a Burning Leo prince from Planet Hotbeat, is tasked with the Helpers to investigate what's going amiss on Shiver Star.


_It happened so fast…_

 _I can barely remember how it happened…_

 _Oh how pathetic of me, falling into such deceit as hers…_

 _I'm alone here with Arielle…_

 _Arielle?_

 _Oh dear Nova, what happened to you?!_

 _Oh, I should have listened to you…_

 _Telling me not to believe her lies.._

 _And look at what happened because I didn't listen…_

 _Fight…_

 _There was a fight, I remember._

 _You were fighting some creature of the damned._

 _I think I passed out before I saw you fight, Arielle…_

 _Oh, you've fought valiantly, unlike I did…_

 _You can't hear me; I know that already…_

 _Fault..._

 _It was all my fault..._

 _It always is…_

 _I deserve this…_

 _I deserve all of this…_

 _I just wish that the consequence didn't have to hurt anyone else…_

~•~.~•~

It all started back a few hours ago. Perhaps it was a day. A week? I wouldn't know. I've lost track of time. But that's rather insignificant. I was with a group of friends, well, allies to be more specific. We helped Kirby keep peace on Gamble Galaxy and we traveled often and rarely ever had the time to spend on anything else. Unfortunate are those circumstances, but it had to be done. We arrived on Planet Shiver Star, the cold wind like whiplash on me. It was nothing I haven't felt, however, and we trudged on. The snow wanted to swallow me in its blanket, forcing me to rocket myself into the sky and keep my position there.

We were told by Kirby, whom was informed by some third source, that something was terribly amiss here. They were right. Everything looked dreary, gloomy, monotone. Many of us were sticking out like sore thumbs here. What was even stranger was the fact that nobody was here. This place was a complete ghost town. Many of us were worried about what happened but the snow and wind roared louder than our thoughts could, wiping the feeling away. We ourselves needed to survive. Chilly was fine though; she was a snow-woman. After what seemed to be an eternity, we came across a colorful building.

There was a sign in front of the building. Some of the letters were too worn to be read but one word still looked to be in great condition. Mall. This was a shopping mall in the middle of nowhere. But nowhere was not the exact term to be used. There used to be something there as I quickly found out, my skin going pale as I soared up higher and observed our surroundings. There was a town here. A mess of shambles protruded from the snow, black as shadow. It contrasted sharply against everything. I couldn't stand looking at it and plummeted into the snow below me, making a decent hole where I landed, quickly regretting this. With a frenzied jump, I skuttle right into the mall, the others following quickly behind…

~•~.~•~

 _It's getting harder to remember…_

 _Ugh, she's probably messing with my memory…_

 _Let me think…_

~•~.~•~

Ah, here we go. When we entered inside, the mall was an absolute mess. Shattered glass littered the floor, merchandise scattered like confetti. Portions of the roof had fallen, letting snow trickle down and accumulate slowly on the ice cold floor. It was obvious that an all-out deathmatch had occurred between many individuals the further everyone went. Corpses littered the floor, almost as plenty as the merchandise early on. Many of them had black smoke rising from them, making most of the crew. Some murmured about a strange entity: Dark Matter.

I never really believed them to be real-

~•~.~•~

 _Argh, a headache…_

~•~.~•~

And even if they were real, Kirby eliminated them all… right?

Oh, how wrong I was to think that...

The smoke thickened and spread like wildfire, covering us in a black blanket. It was then that I felt something grab at me, my hands, feet, sides… I struggled to escape, of course to no avail. I didn't stop, however, until they threw me down. I looked around to see that I had been separated from my allies. Fantastic… In front of me, a whole gang of Dark Matter stared straight at me, their red, unblinking eyes made me shudder. I stand up slowly onto my fours, ready to fight them. Embers escape the slits on the back of my crown in rapid succession before my fiery wings materialized, flapping lazily a few times before remaining in a spread position.

It became some sort of staring contest, yet the Dark Matter obviously won. The moment I even bothered to blink, they all came at me at once. I barely had the time to react, causing me to be flown back from every attack. My wings flapped viciously to keep me up in the air and not hurtling towards a floor or wall. Finally, regaining my balance, I retaliated. It was a good thing I was able to keep them at bay with my flames; they didn't seem fond of the light emitted from them. The match went from a one-sided battle to a stalemate within seconds, them trying to attack only for me to keep them away with a fireball or two.

This was tiring, however, I noticed as time went on, the amount of Dark Matter slowly diminished until I was alone again. I was panting heavily, my lungs felt like they were burning over the amount of time I had to quickly breath in and out making fireballs. I slowly made my way forward, feeling terribly at unease over the entire situation. I tread on through the mall, the deafening silence the only companion I had. How maddening it was. Not even Arielle wanted to talk. I couldn't stand it for a moment longer. Unfortunately, my prayers were answered.

"Well well well,"a voice rang out as I entered a store, "Looks like you were one of the few to actually get past my Dark Matter~!" The voice giggled and now a body formed around it. It looked feminine, dark as pitch. She wore an elaborate white gown with a grey cape draping down her shoulders. Her hair was silky smooth and reached down a good portion of her dress. "And no need to ask for introductions; I don't really have a name but if you must, call me Angel. Ruler of Dark Matter!"

I stood rather surprised; there was no way that this thing was the ruler of Dark Matter. This thing had emotions and the emotions she had looked beyond upbeat… she took notice of this and hummed happily, circling around me several times. "You're better at sleuthing than I thought,"she mused, "I'm a shapeshifter and since these rogues needed a new ruler, I took the role. I know, not very smart~"

"You must be what's going amiss here…"I simply state.

"Correct again!"

"But… why?"

"Well,"she rocked her body from side to side, "I am simply doing what the Dark Matter want and I follow through. We'll shroud this world in darkness then everything else in this pitiful galaxy!"

I shuddered in place. "And how are going to do that? Kirby will probably kick your sorry ass like he did to every other evil being!"

"Who said I was gonna do it in my ordinary form~?" She giggled with an tone of danger to it, making me back away, "Oh? You're leaving too soon~!"

Before I could run, Angel shrouded the area around us in darkness, rendering escape utterly useless. Lucky me… I didn't realize she disappeared until I was too late, she burst out from the shadows, invading my body and mind quickly. Reacting quickly, I shook her right out. Angel wasn't pleased.

"Well, looks like I have to try this another way, persistent little Prince,"she sneered, garnering surprise from me, "Prince Leonard X from Planet Hotbeat. How pitiful."

I growled lowly to myself, ready to attack if need be yet she dispersed into thin air again. My eyes darted around, this time launching a fireball when Angel flew out from one of the infinite corners of the darkness. The shapeshifter then flew over it, now diving in from above. It was a bit more difficult to fight her off from my mind but I managed. Instantly, I felt a bit exhausted. I wasn't sure why. Angel giggled near maniacally, swaying herself from side to side once more as she floated onto the other side of the battlefield. I huff, ready for another attack before the ruler spoke.

"Gee, I know exactly what to do with you now, dear Leonard,"she cooed, now fully landing onto the ground, dematerializing for several seconds. She formed into my biological mother...

"What in the-"I started but Angel interrupted.

"Humph, I wasn't ready for a child!"she stated, catching me off guard, "Ugh, what am I supposed to do with this little rat?!" She then formed into my biological father. "He sure is smaller than your average Leo. He's bound to die before he could even be bothered to breed."

Angel was lying. She must be..! "M-Ma and Pa l-loved me…"I stammered. _'I knew they loved me… I know they do, I know they do… it simply can't he true…'_ My stature shaking already. The female caught this easily. She shapeshifted into another character. My childhood crush.

"Ugh, what does he expect from his reckless fighting and protecting of others? My love and praise? Ha! As if!" She laughed like a madwoman before she morphed into my royal mother.

"He couldn't even fight for crying out loud! I wonder what I even found in him five years ago that I made him some scapegoat for a scandal! Right, I simply needed him to keep my head and title!"

I bit my lip hard; it drew indigo blood. I could hear Arielle now yelling at me. She's telling me not to believe them but my mind wandered… that last part was somewhat true… _'They did need someone to pretend to be their child… and who's to say that my childhood crush didn't...'_ Tears quickly started to stream down my flushed face, my frame now shaking like I was in an earthquake. "Shut up!" I finally yelled, "They're lies! Slander! Not true..!"

"How would you know~?"Angel shifted back into her usual form, "Some things are better left unsaid, y'know. So many hate you. Even your current _'friends'_ have a bone to pick with you. You have a thing against most of them whether it's what they use for battle to their own species to even just what they do. Who's to say they don't have something against _you~?_ " The ruler walked around me in a circle, a smug smile on her sickening face. I didn't move, my tears clouded a good portion of my vision and I couldn't stop the tremor my body put on itself.

"Why are you… Doing this to me..?" I ask, "Hell, I'm only f-following o-o-orders…" I barely choked those words out, my breaths hitched and dry.

"You've fallen so far from grace. Nobody will even think of you. Miss you. They'll forget. Just like all those who promised you something and broke it. Just like how everyone tells you one thing only to talk behind your back about how utterly pathetic you are. C'mon, Leonard; stop believing in all the slander you've put up with."

That was it. I couldn't take it. Lies... _'She's right… they'll lie. They always do. They'll break promises and eventually forget… They always will… from now until their dying breath…'_ The combination of realization and the cries from the voices in my head were enough for my tears to flow incessantly, my common sense to shut down, and for my entire being to break down…

I wailed aloud and fell to the floor, crying my heart out. I didn't feel Angel flying into me until it was too late. I blacked out before I could see Arielle appear…

~•~.~•~

It was only recently I woke up and saw where I was at. It was dark as pitch, and nothing was here, save for Arielle who was badly injured and unconscious. I try to get up from my collapsed position, only to find that I was completely paralyzed from movement, except, of course, my basic living functions. Angel appears before me, propping me up in a sitting position like I was some dolly.. She then makes me have a view from the outside.

Space. It was as beautiful as usual but I couldn't smile. It was strange; there was a three-way split between three eye surfaces. Sometimes, inky teardrops streamed down them painfully slowly. I didn't feel it though. I… couldn't feel anything, actually...

 _"When did I get to space..?"_ I hear myself say.

"I took us here, you silly pawn!"Angel answers with malice in her tone, "I just had the most magnificent plan~! We're gonna pay your _'friends'_ a little visit~!" She laughs hysterically as my heart sinks. "Aw, don't worry Princey; they'll join you soon enough! Oh! They'll absolutely love your new cosmetic, I just know it~!" She span once before disappearing and I felt myself crying again.

 _"I'm such a failure…"_


End file.
